This week saw a new bill introduced to the Kentucky State Senate that would see the expansion of gaming and allow casinos in the state. The bill was introduced by Senators Morgan McGarvey and Julie Raque Adams, both of Louisville. The bill now needs to gain approval from both of Kentucky’s houses of legislature before making its way to a public referendum in November. If the public votes in favor of the bill, it will not need to be given the green light by the Governor Matt Bevin who has opposed casino-style gambling in the past.
The senators are marketing the bill as a means to make up the missing funds in the Kentucky Retirement Systems and the Kentucky Teachers’ Retirement System. If the bill manages to pass, 90% of all revenue from the new casinos or other forms of expanded gambling will be allocated to these funds, for the first ten years at least. The other 10% will be directed to Kentucky’s horse-racing industry.
This is certainly not the first time that the idea of gambling expansion has been brought up in Kentucky. In fact, for the past 17 consecutive years, the idea has been debated over and over again, but has always been shot down by opponents at the last minute.
As with all measures involving gambling and casino expansion in Kentucky, there has been continued opposition to the latest bills as well. Some have expressed their concerns regarding the negative social consequences of gambling expansion in the state.
Proponents, in the meantime, argue that casinos could halt the state’s pension crisis and provide much needed revenue. It is estimated that the state loses about $550 million in revenue each year to neighboring states that have casinos.
The last time a similar bill was proposed in 2014, the Republican-led Senate nixed the expansion plans, with the bill’s author, Senator Dan Seum saying that he did not have the support in the Senate to have the bill approved.
“At this point in time, I have no plans in putting it on the floor, obviously, until I have the necessary votes to pass a constitutional amendment,” he said at the time.
Kentucky has some of the toughest gambling laws in the United States, only allowing some betting on horse racing and charitable games. There are no full-fledged casinos in Kentucky at this time.
